'Wonder' is first U.S. film to get American Sign Language interpretation

Mashable12 Feb 2019 02:30The mobile app Actiview now provides an American Sign Language interpretation for the film "Wonder."

Image: Lionsgate / Actiview

For years, film studios have made movies accessible to viewers with visual or hearing disabilities through audio tracks and closed captioning. Now, for the first time, U.S. audiences will be able to watch a film with American Sign Language interpretation.

On Tuesday, the entertainment company Lionsgate announced its partnership with the mobile application Actiview and Deaf activist and actor Nyle DiMarco to create an ASL interpretation of Wonder. That family-friendly film, which debuted in November 2017 as a Lionsgate movie, tells the story of a young boy with facial differences caused by a genetic syndrome who is bullied when he begins attending mainstream school in the fifth grade.

"I hope that [the interpretation] shows Deaf/[hard of hearing] viewers that there could be more options for enjoying movies and television," DiMarco wrote in an email. "Mostly I hope that studios and networks reflect on how accessible their content is and look at ways that they can improve. It would be amazing if in the not-too-distant future all viewable content had an ASL option."